Grease Recital

The last few weeks has been busy and I have done a terrible job of keeping up with blogging. I will try better.

Maddie had her dance recital last weekend. They did such a sweet little job and she thought she was such a movie star. We went to dinner afterwards and all the hostesses and waiters all treated her like she was a super star. She ate that up and adored it. They did the musical Grease, as an entire studio. Her class had a few dances involved so that everyone was a part of it. She did her best and looked so sweet and cute. She still is the shortest one in her clase by far but she has learned so much in the last three years. I don't know if we will end up doing dance next year. I have asked her to pick one extracurricular activity and she is leaning towards gymnastics. I may let her just take ballet because she really is good at it but I just don't know. For now though, dance has increased her flexibility, coordination, rhythm, appreciation of music, understanding of structure in a classroom. It has been great. I love seeing her look up to the big girls and watch them dance with her chin on the floor, amazed at what they can do.

Backyard + bounce house + water = SUPER FUN!

Well, we finally broke out the bounce house with the water combo. It was a recipe for lots of fun. We have been playing in the bounce house all winter and spring but we haven't hooked up the water for obvious reasons. Well, now that we have hit some fairly warm days around here I felt it was necessary to let the craziness commense. It was like Christmas all over again. They always love playing in it even without the water but it was just more than they could imagine when the water got turned on. They did not even care that the water was freezing and they played their little hearts out. I think Maddie's lips turned blue but she didn't mind. Mollie didn't even seem to notice the water was so cold she was having tons of fun splashing and sliding down the slide. It was pure joy. I must say this has been one of the best toy purchases we have ever made. We have already logged countless hours of playing on it, not to mention, how much it has helped increase balance and coordination for Mollie. She is actually starting to get a little air under her when she jumps. It is just too cute. I love these girls so much and to see them laughing it up in the sun just brings so much happiness to me.

More meds

This picture you can get a better idea of the new swollen lymph node under the incision.

My sweet girl despite the numerous doctor appointments, medications, and surgery!

We went back to the doctor today for Mollie's recheck. Remember she grew another lymph node and they placed her on her 6th antibiotic. Well, the doctor thinks that there has been some shrinkage in the size of the lymph nodes which is a step in the right direction. He went ahead and called Children's Hospital in Dallas to talk to them about seeing her and their first available appointment isn't until September! Can you believe that! I am shocked...I guess the good in it is that they aren't considering her a priority but in my mind she is a priority. So our doctor also contacted Cook's in Ft. Worth but they don't have an ENT department. Instead he tracked down an Infectious Disease doctor and filled him in on the details. He thinks that we should continue with an antibiotic for six weeks to see if it will clear the rest of this stuff up. He then said that if they are still swollen they will have to remove them. The other good news is that the cultures have started growing something. They aren't sure what it is but at least something is starting to happen and we will have some answers. He said that he thinks it is either cat scratch growing or NMB (nontuberculosis mycobacterium) which is a cousin to TB. I am honestly sick of all of this stuff and really ready to wash my hands of this. I guess God still has something in store for us to learn. We are hanging in there. Mollie is acting more and more like she feels better. We did break her of her pacifier a little over a month ago. The first three days were pretty tough but after that it got better. Occasionally she will mention something about it but all in all it is good. I must admit it is nice to not have to keep up with it. The only trick to doing this for us was NOT giving in even when the fits were over the top.

It is official...

It is offical... I got a job!!!! The principal at the Elementary School called yesterday to inform me that I need to come by and sign a contract and get my info and stuff for my room. I am so relieved and excited all at once. I love this school and didn't apply anywhere else. I knew that if I was going to go back to teaching it would have to be here. I have the same team to work with and just feel so lucky. My girls are even going to get to go to the school I wanted them in all along! Thank you Lord for providing for us once again, especially since we don't deserve your blessings. I know next year will be full of transitions and adjustments but our hope will remain in you and our faith will as well!